Super Bowl Sunday is one of America’s most united days, all because of the bliss of football.  Throughout the season, we support our specific teams, and then come together one day of the year to cheer on one of two outstanding teams. But the polarization of our society with violence has overtly slithered into America’s most fantastic pastime.  On Sunday, October 2, Joseph Bauer, a former U.S. Marine and Ravens fan, was struck in the head by one of two football fans from New York. The fact that he had served our country was the hard part for me. Looking back, it didn’t help that a statement of a violent nature was blatantly boosted by a candidate for president of the United States.

“I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose voters.” Also, an African American was caught on camera being sucker punched in the head by an opposition supporter.  That is why this tweet is for the President of the United States.

 Mr. President:

At the age of seventeen, after almost two decades of being systematically trained to swallow the bitter pill of racism, I joined the U.S. Navy. The oath I took was as follows:

“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

The key phrase was, and is, at the time for me, “So help me God.” As a child, I was taught never to use the Lord’s name in vain.  Many people believe that taking the Lord’s name in vain refers to using the Lord’s name as a swear word. I had been taught there was much more involved. If you make a promise, especially to God, you should not “should” but must keep it.  Faith is not just a Sabbath day ritual. What the beautiful children of this great nation deserve is a conscientious presenter of moral scruples, not a presenter of hate and division. What young minds learn in their first two decades of life, they will carry into adulthood. Because there is the issue of “Cause and Effect,” role models matter.

The Oath of Enlistment is something that every service member must promise and adhere to for his/her entire military career. From the Oath, you can see that you will be defending the Constitution, not a person, and in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, orders given must be lawful.

This nation was built on immigration and the institution of slavery.  The Native Americans are the only original, and they were shifted off to the many reservations. Because of inequities, amendments to the Constitution were necessary to guarantee all, regardless of race, creed, color, or sexual orientation, the freedom of speech and religion.

Mr. President, this means Christians, non-Christians – Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and other world religions, including Atheist and Agnostic, or no religion at all.  Serving my country gave me the great opportunity to attend church services for many different denominations. Although there may have been various versions of the Bible used, i.e., KJV, NKJV, NIV, ESV, there was a commonality: love and respect. People may draw different interpretations from the same version, but how they get there is their business. It’s in the soul.  When you divide people, you create fear, causing neighbors to distrust neighbors and communities to lock down. I call this virtual cattle rustling, corralling people to create division and discord.

Another lesson learned from the words of wisdom from my elders is never to judge people by the color of their skin or to judge them as unintelligent for using four-letter words excessively. They don’t necessarily lack intelligence. Four-letter words or explicit adjectives could be behavior that offsets a weakness, i.e., an inferiority complex, or a way of keeping people on the defensive, thereby maintaining control. The devil could be in the making.

A little of African American history, Mr. President, must be placed upon you.  Back in the day, to overcome the never-ending season of indignation by whites, young blacks played the “Dozen” game.  A game of spoken words between two contestants, usually in front of an audience. The commentary in the game focused on the opposing player’s competency, appearance, intelligence, etc. When comments ventured into sexuality or “yo mama,” it became the “Dirty Dozen.”  Nowadays, it’s no game; it’s offensive.  Anything you practice you become good at, even “Fake News” and “Alternative Facts.”  The art of Rapping, another African American creation, was born in Harlem,  New York, requiring coordination of the mind and the tongue, the linguistics of black communication. Now a billion-dollar business.  Rapping in its lyrics initially was a cry for help from the inner city youth.  The words soon turned violent when society wouldn’t listen, and the prisons began to fill as black lives didn’t seem to matter.   I’ll leave that for another executive enlightenment. In reality, Mr. President, you played the dozen in the primaries, and your opponents couldn’t hang, and you are still playing the dozen as a distractor, as with U.S. District Judge James Robart, a “so-called judge.”

On the 21st of January  2017, women of all ages, some with children, joined by men all across America and women around the world, were united in solidarity. One week later, Thousands Protest At Airports Nationwide Against Immigration Order.  Movements Don’t Start with a Strategy; They Start with a Moment.  The March on Washington, which led to the Civil Rights Act of 1965, was a movement born of a moment on Bloody Sunday.  The world saw Alabama State Trooper shooting tear gas and wading into a crowd of nonviolent protesters with billy clubs, ultimately hospitalizing over fifty people, of which Congressman John Lewis was one of the injured. He wears the scars to this day.  Upon his refusal to attend your inauguration, you played the “Dozens” again with a statement of alternative facts.  Be advised by a “yes” person that history has a way of repeating.

I have high regard for the office of the presidency, in keeping with the oath I took and re-took four times for a total of 22 years. But, in the words of Denzel Washington, “Anything you practice, you can get good at, including BS,” and you are superb at it.  I’ve been called everything but the child of God from the point of bigotry; now it’s like water on a duck’s back. Longevity does have its rewards, meaning you are never too old to learn.  I’ve learned forgiveness through the word of God, as have the families of the Charleston Church shooting forgave the shooter. It’s something only people in the spirit can understand.  Vindictive personalities stick out like a whale out of the water.

Therefore, I pledge I will never yell, “You Lie.”  As long as you are in office, I will never question your birth, make fun of your hair, call you names, or bring attention to your face.  I won’t even question your tax returns because I want you to succeed. You are the president. If you succeed in creating jobs while keeping America safe, improve the quality of life for all, especially the poor and the declining middle class, and claim the fears and the hatred, then and only then will America succeed. Respecting the position does not mean I respect the person. That is something the person has got to earn.  As a veteran, I was saddened to hear a potential Commander in Chief make a statement considered beyond the pale about a slain Muslim American soldier and a disparaging statement about a prisoner of war, Senator John McCain. Men who took the same oath as I did.  I have two cousins who were paratroopers in Vietnam who survived but are no longer with us. I feel you even disrespected them.  You, Mr. President, are on the far end of the spectrum, falling into the category of not having a clue.  Running a business requires investing money for a return.  Running the United States of America as Commander-in-Chief means you’ve got to invest in people. People, then, by human nature, will respond positively.  Don’t call me a six-letter word loser, and expect me to serve you breakfast in bed. This is not an Empire, and you are not an Emperor.  Right now, the polls are in a downward spiral, and the hired help is still scrambling to clarify your words with alternative truths.  

An old African proverb: “The enemy outside cannot hurt you if there’s no enemy within.”  I will re-word the personality you are displaying.  The enemy outside cannot hurt you when there are cordial communications within.  Please eliminate the atmosphere of futility and replace it with grace.  As a leader, that’s your job to lead by example. To unite us all, as I respectfully tell you, Mr. President…..

 Chief Navy Counselor

 US Navy  Retired

        “Guidance Against the Odds” ©2016